Operating capital
As Louisiana restarts executions, stories about the state’s death penalty — from condemned men, victims, families, and those who work in the death chamber.
Category
Opinion
Perspectives and reflections that challenge, question, and inspire.
In this ground, our ancestors were buried.
Our heritage is in this land. We can’t let a multinational corporation desecrate it.
The Louisiana legislature’s plans to cage our future: the March 29 ballot amendments
Early voting for this crucial election starts on Saturday. The four constitutional amendments on the March 29 ballot are designed to mislead you as a voter and stand in the way of a safe, more healthy Louisiana.
Redemption and the Ultimate Punishment
"I remember feeling a flush of anger that the State of Louisiana was giving Bordelon what he wanted, relief from his guilt," writes the author, who visited Angola with a film crew in 2010 as Louisiana was preparing to execute Gerald Bordelon. "My husband had died a few years before that, leaving me a widow and mother to two small children. Death, for me, was not something a governor should casually enter into with a signature — or that Bordelon could chase, to relieve his personal agony."
Vote to reject the state’s costly push to fill Louisiana jails and prisons
Voters have a chance on March 29 to turn the tide against Gov. Jeff Landry and his legislature’s extensive, expensive plans to expand the criminal-justice system in Louisiana, which already incarcerates more people per capita than any other state
True Terror: New Orleans Likely Not Prepared for Much
"As a researcher who has closely observed, personally experienced local struggles," says the writer, Bethany Garfield, "it’s with a heavy heart that I say that investigations into the state of our city’s protective plans and systems will likely garner the following conclusion: New Orleans isn’t ready for much of anything.."
Making the grade – or not.
What Louisiana's school letter grades don’t tell us about school quality. Despite our F grade, the students at Noble Minds are not failing, and we are not failing our students.
Ensuring we all feel safe and are stably employed
“We have much work to do,” Hunter writes, “to ensure that an anti-terrorist component is part of the planning process for every special event that attracts thousands – Mardi Gras, festivals and holiday celebrations, even our Sunday second-line parades.”
‘Servitude’
The author, who is also associate editor for the Angolite magazine, won an honorable mention for this essay in the 2024 PEN Prison Writing Awards.
